


Little Bundle of Poison

by Star_Filled_Ink



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Mech Preg (Transformers)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:34:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27172496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star_Filled_Ink/pseuds/Star_Filled_Ink
Summary: Skyfire would’ve been a wonderful Sire had the Senate spared his life. Instead, Starscream’s Conjunx sleeps in an icy tomb, leaving the Seeker alone to care for their child. It’s not easy. Not with war at their heels and a government that needs toppling, but no force is more ruthless than a protective Carrier.
Relationships: Skyfire/Starscream (Transformers), Skywarp & Starscream & Thundercracker (Transformers)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 42





	Little Bundle of Poison

There were countless reasons to love Cybertron, although for Starscream, the list typically started and ended with Vos. However, he could begrudgingly admit that Iacon wheedled its wicked way into his Spark right next to Skyfire. He remembered the study center where he met his conjunx, the academy labs where klutzy accidents befell irksome classmates, that cheap bar which always echoed with drunken singing. They were all fond memories.

If you asked Skyfire about the wonders of Cybertron, the next five joors would be filled with sweet drivel. He was proud to be a Cybertronian, and proud to call Crystal City his home. It was so funny how Skyfire hailed from Cybertron’s magnum opus, a city made of glitz and glamour, and yet it was always the simple things he most appreciated. The taste of homemade oil cake, the silly nonsense Starscream mutters in recharge, the lilleths that roost outside their apartment window. Each one brought a smile to Skyfire’s face.

However, nothing could compare to the experience of being off world on an expedition.

The warmth of his conjunx at his side, the jeweled universe ahead of them, and the sense of freedom fluttering in his Spark. It was bliss. Out here, there was no worry over prejudice nor struggle for shanix. Just Starscream and Skyfire together, embracing their passion for science.

Of course, science is seldom the only thing embraced during these long voyages. Space is vast and cold, but never empty. Starscream and Skyfire huddle close, two warm specks floating amidst its endless beauty.

“How lucky we are, to be a part of something so wondrous?” Skyfire sighs wistfully. 

“I think we’re lucky to see it so close. I could pluck a star from its orbit and claim it as mine,” Starscream mumbles into the other’s neck.

“You could. I could too, but I already have my own little star.”

Starscream presses a rough kiss to Skyfire’s cheek, humming in approval.

_“Only yours. I’m yours if you’re mine, and I know you are. So, my Spark is yours,”_ He thinks. Starscream didn’t need to say it for he knew it was a shared sentiment.

“Still,” Skyfire exclaims, gesturing towards the uncharted galaxy, “the universe is so big, and it’s easy to make me feel small, but then I remember I’m a part of it. Everything that is, everything that will be, I didn’t just get to witness it. I- _we_ get to live it!”

Starscream looks out at eternity, an inky tapestry lined with silver and gold. A supernal loom ever weaving a pattern of quasars and planets with meticulous care. Every stitch should be admired, and Skyfire was correct. They too, were tightly knit into this work of art. Quietly, the Seeker nods in agreement.

Starscream cups Skyfire’s face, and the shuttle smiles down at him because Starscream was the only force strong enough to pull Skyfire’s eyes away from the universe. When they kiss, it begins chastely, but it ends with Starscream pawing at Skyfire’s chest.

“You really want to get intimate out here?” Skyfire teases, looping his arms around his conjunx’s lithe waist. “That’s a foolish idea.”

Starscream was incorrigible as ever with fluttering eyes and a kittenish smirk.

“No, it’s a fun idea. Come on, frag me flying, Sky! Who’s going to walk in on us? An asteroid?”

Skyfire’s laugh rumbles through Starscream’s frame like calm thunder. He never could resist the Seeker; He never wanted to. Their chassis part, unveiling the glow of their Sparks, and they connect like a constellation. It’s a beautiful experience. Two bright lights, already darling on their own, create something new. As they merge, surrounded by a thousand stars, it almost feels like the universe is smiling at them. Everything felt right, or at least, in that moment it did.

. . .

. . .

. . .

Later, a freezing flurry of white steals Skyfire and entombs him under a mountain of hail.

Starscream can’t see. Heavy snowfall wrapped its icy grip around his eyes, and slowly squeezed. Primus, it was so, so cold. In stories, Hell is described as heat and sulfur, but now, Starscream thinks this must be Hell. Torture is ice invading your systems, freezing your joints, and trying to sway your Spark to go quiet. Hell is a terrified conjunx you can’t reach.

The storm may pass, but not the panic. Skyfire is gone like a pleasant dream robbed by the waking world. Gone but not dead, for their bond had yet to break. Starscream was rendered unable to touch or see his Conjunx, but he could still feel Skyfire’s Spark. He could feel the pain bleeding through their shared link.

He searches half the globe for Skyfire, but the effort proves fruitless. Soon, Starscream is hit with a harrowing realization. If he stays on this icecap, then both of their deaths will be sealed.

_“I’ll be back, Sky. I swear it! I-I’m not abandoning you, so you better not leave me. Don’t you dare! Just hold on,”_ The Seeker thinks because joors of sobbing have left his voice broken.

With dwindling energy, Starscream treks back to Cybertron, and tries not to wonder if Skyfire is still conscious. The journey home is long, lonely, and hungry. With each mile, the strings that bind them stretch thinner and thinner. It feels wrong, but he has no other choice.

There is no welcome party to greet him back on Cybetron, but maybe there would’ve been someone had he landed on Iacon’s runway. Starscream misses the mark by approximately one hundred miles, and crashes into a monument dedicated to Quintus Prime. Naturally, bystanders panic. Soon, the air is filled with sirens, yet it felt so distant. Everything was numb.

**Warning: Fuel Levels at Fifteen Percent.**

**Inducing Emergency Stasis Lock.**

Starscream dreams of a warm embrace and a baritone lullaby. He awakes to a plastic smile and hollow eyes. A Bastion. The Seeker recoils, but quickly discovered he’s bound to a medical berth, with no medic in sight. Suddenly, he’s feeling much like cornered prey.

Bastions were a functionist’s dream. Each Spark encased in an identical mold with nothing but a number to distinguish them. The Senate purports that this was to promote unity, and what a lovely lie that is. It was blind conformity to enforce blind obedience. A Bastion exists only to impose the Senate’s will. Anyone who steps out of line always fall into a Bastion’s clutches, and no one ever escapes with their face intact.

When the Bastion speaks, its lips do not move, for a Bastion’s smile is unending. Instead, its voice emits from a speaker embedded within its chest.

“Starscream of Vos. Frame type: Seeker. Position: . . . Scientist. Explorer. Past charges include disrupting peace, minor assault, and vandalism of private and public property.”

It was reading his file, displayed on its hud, no doubt. How much of his history could this thing access on a whim? Starscream should defend himself, shouldn’t he? Make a quip about how mechlings love to waste their youth on foolish larks, but his tongue felt heavy and his jaw too tense. Every instinct demands he keep quiet.

The Bastion reaches out with long, sinewy limbs crafted with excess joints. There are at least several paces between them, yet that space is encroached with ease. Starscream’s arms tremble up in defense. He wonders if this is the last action his hands will ever perform. Then the IV implanted in his arm is yanked, roughly disconnecting him from a steady stream of med-grade. Now, it drizzles onto the floor, staining it a murky pink. It’d be so easy to imagine a worse accident from such a spill.

“Starscream of Vos, the esteemed Senate requests your presence,” the Bastion drones, forcing Starscream to his pedes.

No one can refuse a Bastion. Starscream stumbles towards the nearest door, eager to put distance between himself and this creature, yet he couldn’t make the final step out. Despite his fear, Skyfire took precedence.

“Skah-Skyfire-my partner-there was an accident. Please. He needs help! You got to help him!”

There is no visible reaction, but it would be foolish to expect one from a Bastion. Their faces were more akin to happy masks. Pretty illusions to hide what was rotting behind those empty eyes.

“We are aware of your partner’s condition,” It says, but no, that’s not right. Starscream didn’t have a chance to inform anyone of the accident until now.

The Bastion pounces without warning, limbs writhing like snakes. One arm twists tightly around Starscream’s waist whilst the other tangles over his chest and shoulder until it forces its way inside his mouth. Starscream lived up to his namesake. He could feel its talons curl into his inner jaw, but Starscream has a silver tongue and teeth like knives. The Bastion’s hand is crushed under his fangs, and while it gives no indication of pain, the crunch is satisfying.

“Starscream of Vos, the esteemed Senate requests your presence.”

There is no rage in its assertion. Nor mirth or pride. Just static.

Starscream is shepherded out, but he refuses to tolerate such disrespect. He kicks and hisses like mad, but anyone they pass quickly averts their gaze. It was like he was a ghost.

Their destination is an opulent courtroom tiered with rows of judges, each seated in thrones encrusted with crystals. Behind them stood a haunting statue. An eyeless Cybertronian with tar flowing from the gorges in her skull and down to the basin at her pedes. A silver scale was held aloft in her grip. In the left plate was a dancing flame, symbolizing the Spark, and in the right sat a rusted scraplet. A horrid, insatiable beast that seemed to twitch in the flame’s light. There was no better symbol for the depraved. Whilst the courtroom was adorned in bright golds, the statue was an incongruous grey, save for the splatters of pink beneath her heel. This was justice, blind and furious. 

The Bastion drops Starscream with a buzz, “Thank you for your compliance.”

Finally free to move his burning jaw, Starscream coughs, sending spatters of blood against the pristine floor. Few Senators bother to hide their grimaces. They leer down at the Seeker as if contemplating the significance of an ant.

Starscream is a prideful mech, but for Skyfire, he prostrates before the Senate and begs. They accuse him of murder. Skyfire is declared dead. Without evidence or witnesses, the Senate cannot condemn him to a life sentence, but they gleefully rip away his rank and forever tarnish his reputation. Starscream is dragged off, howling in grief, and Senator Proteus watches with a serene smile. It soon vanishes, replaced by a grim sigh.

“Well, I wish this were a surprise, but really, it’s our own faults. How did we expect a War Frame to resist its base instincts?”

Proteus always was an excellent actor. Next to him, Senator Decimus slams a fist against the armrest of his throne. “Iacon wasted its generosity on a scoundrel! We can’t ever repeat the mistake of allowing another Flight Frame into our prestigious academy.”

“Oh, that poor, naïve Shuttle . . .” another croons.

The judiciary murmur amongst themselves. A few prayers are sent towards the Shuttle, wishing for a smooth journey to the Well of Allsparks, before tapering off into casual chatter. They plan brunch, discuss opera, and muse over Sentinel’s request for more troops guarding the Kaon border. None of them comment on the echoing cries of a Spark-broken mech.

In a few orns, the Senate will forget the incident entirely, but Starscream remembers. Each pang of hunger and every overdue rent fee is a reminder of their cruelty. Every misfortune nurses his grudge into an ugly beast. Large, sharp, and hungry. Starscream remembers the Senate, polished like jewels, and imagines them dirty and dented from his fists. He envisions their screams like ballads, their blood like fine wine, and most of all, he remembers Skyfire.

Sweet, darling Skyfire, with his gentle eyes and calm voice. Starscream remembers the press of his lips, his brilliant mind, his shy excitement, and he weeps. The Seeker sheds a thousand tears for his lost conjunx, and a thousand more flood over a handheld mirror angled in front of his open Spark Chamber. The mirror itself is nothing special, but in its reflection is a small Spark orbiting Starscream’s own like a glittering, blue moon. This Spark, so precious and bright, brings warmth to Starscream’s cold Spark Chamber. Skyfire often talked about building a creation, but look at them now . . .

“You deserve so much. So much I cannot give,” Starscream whispers to his little light.

A warm berth, fresh Energon, dolls to cuddle, and above all, a Sire’s loving hug. Once, Starscream could provide them all, but the Senate has stolen everything from him.

Starscream settles a hand over his chest, and swears on every star in the sky, “If I can’t give you a domestic life, then I’m going to give you the universe.”

Even if he must take it by force.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, icicles don't soften when they die  
> They sharpen into sabers  
> And they stab you in the eye.
> 
> I've been working on this fic for a long time, and I so excited to share it with you all! I want to thank my friend, Baird Crevan, for beta reading this for me. She's a wonderful writer and you should absolutely check out her work. Also, more credit where its due, this chapter's title is based on a catchy called Icicles song by The Scary Jokes. I'd also recommend you check it out as well.


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